ELMWOOD PARK -- The father of one of the two New Jersey suspects arrested this weekend said the family is "devastated" and has not slept much in two days.

Pedro Almonte, father of Carlos Eduardo Almonte, 24, spoke to The Star-Ledger this morning on his way to federal court in Newark, where his son and Mohamed Mahmood Alessa, 20, of North Bergen will be arraigned.

The Star-LedgerCarlos Eduardo Almonte in a 2002 school yearbook photo.
"I'm glad he never got on that plane," Almonte said.

He said he knew very few details about the FBI investigation into his son's alleged plans to travel to Egypt and eventually Somalia where he was believed to be linking up with al Shabaab. He said his family was shocked that his son was involved in the activity.

"We thought he was a normal kid. He wasn't a religious person. We didn't know anything about that." Almonte said. "I can't stand that religion--everybody knows that," he said referring to Islamic fundamentalism.

FBI and NYPD raid home of Mohamed Alessa in North BergenMembers of the FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force and the New York Police Department spent hours at the home of Mohamed Hamoud Alessa, 20, of North Bergen, who was arrested and charged with conspiring to commit an act of international terrorism. (Video by Nyier Abdou/The Star-Ledger)

John O'Boyle/The Star-LedgerPedro Almonte, father of Carlos Eduardo Almonte who was arrested on terrorism charge, briefly talks about his son's arrest.